Whirlpool 2Q net income more than doubles

CHICAGO: Whirlpool Corp's second-quarter net income more than doubled as it cut costs and benefited from more shoppers taking advantage of federal rebates to buy new appliances.

The solid quarter, which topped Wall Street expectations, prompted the world's largest appliance maker to boost its full-year outlook on Tuesday.

``With continued strong execution throughout our global operations, we expect to deliver a record year of earnings per share in this fragile global economic environment,'' Chairman and CEO Jeff M. Fettig said in a statement.

Whirlpool earned $205 million, or $2.64 per share, during the three months that ended on June 30. Excluding certain one-time items, that figure is $2.82.

In the same period last year the company earned $78 million, or $1.04 per share.

Revenue rose 9 per cent to $4.53 billion, up from $4.17 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $2.17 per share on revenue of $4.50 billion.

Demand for the company's washers, dryers and other appliances had been hurt in the recession. But sales are picking up due to federal rebates for energy-efficient appliances.

Whirlpool said it now expects to earn between $9 and $9.50 per share for the full year. That's up from its previous forecast of net income between $8 and $8.50 per share, and above Wall Street's expectation of $8.67 per share.

Whirlpool makes its namesake, Maytag, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air products. Its first-quarter sales were also helped by the federal rebates.